Research Data for "Two genes, ANS and UFGT2, from Vaccinium spp. are key steps for modulating anthocyanin production ".

Anthocyanins are a major group of red to blue spectrum plant pigments with many
consumer health benefits. Anthocyanins are derived from the flavonoid pathway and
diversified by glycosylation and methylation, involving the concerted action of specific
enzymes. Blueberry and bilberry (Vaccinium spp.) are regarded as ‘superfruits’ owing to
their high content of flavonoids, especially anthocyanins. While ripening-related
anthocyanin production in bilberry (V. myrtillus) and blueberry (V. corymbosum) is
regulated by the transcriptional activator MYBA1, the role of specific structural genes in
determining the concentration and composition of anthocyanins has not been
functionally elucidated. We isolated three candidate genes, CHALCONE SYNTHASE
(VmCHS1), ANTHOCYANIDIN SYNTHASE (VmANS) and UDP-GLUCOSE :
FLAVONOID-3-O-GLYCOSYLTRANSFERASE (VcUFGT2), from Vaccinium, which
were predominantly expressed in pigmented fruit skin tissue and showed high
homology between bilberry and blueberry. Agrobacterium-mediated transient
expression of Nicotiana benthamiana showed that overexpression of VcMYBA1 in
combination with VmANS significantly increased anthocyanin concentration (3-fold).
Overexpression of VmCHS1 showed no effect above that induced by VcMYBA1, while
VcUFGT2 modulated anthocyanin composition to produce delphinidin-3-
galactosylrhamnoside, not naturally produced in tobacco. In strawberry (Fragaria ×
ananassa), combined transient overexpression of VcUFGT2 with a FLAVONOID 3´,5´-
HYDROXYLASE from kiwifruit (Actinidia melanandra) modulated the anthocyanin
profile to include galactosides and arabinosides of delphinidin and cyanidin, major
anthocyanins in blueberry and bilberry. These findings provide insight into the role of
the final steps of biosynthesis in modulating anthocyanin production in Vaccinium and
may contribute to the targeted breeding of new cultivars with improved
nutritional properties.

These raw datasets underly gene expression (RT-PCR) analyses and functional characterization (anthocyanin concentrations) of gene candidates using heterologous expression in plantae as published in
Front. Plant Sci. 14:1082246.
doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1082246